Aiming to rebuild its intellectual property litigation practice in Austin, Bracewell brought back two IP litigators who departed nearly five years ago to join Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman's Austin office.

Conor Civins and Michael Chibib, who also do commercial litigation, rejoined Bracewell as partners on Dec. 3. They said others from Pillsbury may also move at a later date.

Since their departure, Chibib and Civins stayed in touch with friends from Bracewell, and they entered into serious negotiations about a lateral move two months ago.

They said they could not pass up the opportunity to boomerang back to the homegrown Texas firm because of its strong energy and technology practices. They also cited resurgence of intellectual property litigation in the Western District of Texas since Alan Albright took the bench in Waco just over a year ago.

The Western District includes Austin but also Waco, which has become an IP hot spot in the wake of Albright's appointment.

"We have always liked the Bracewell culture and people. That's part of it. Another part of it is Bracewell is really looking to put its shoulder to the wheel and really build this [practice] up," said Civins, noting an increased level of "excitement" among IP lawyers with Albright as judge. Before taking the bench, Albright was an IP litigator in Austin for Bracewell.

That enthusiasm throughout the Texas market is an indication of how a single judge's appointment can impact Texas firms' perspective on where to mobilize IP litigators.

In early 2015, Chibib, Civins and partners Barry Shelton and Edward Cavazos jumped to Pillsbury's Austin office from Bracewell, along with several associates. Cavazos remains managing partner of Pillsbury's Austin office, and could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a statement provided by a firm spokesman, Pillsbury said it wishes Civins and Chibib well.

Shelton left Pillsbury in 2017 and now practices at Shelton Coburn, an IP litigation boutique. He said his departure from Pillsbury was amicable and was largely due to client conflicts.

He said Chibib and Civins are both skilled lawyers who will clearly add to Bracewell's IP heft. "Bracewell is a fantastic firm," he said.

Chibib said he has nothing but nice things to say about Pillsbury, but the move to Bracewell provides him and Civins with the opportunity to refocus on Texas-based clients.

Civins added, "There's a lot more room for Mike and me to flex our IP muscles [with] not as many conflicts here, or—for lack of a better way to say it—bureaucratic interruption," he said.

According to Civins, the duo has active matters for such clients as fitness company Nautilus, based in Vancouver; Trilogy, a software company in Austin; and Houston's BMC Software. Other clients, he said, include Austin startup The Zebra and JungleScout, which has an office in Austin.

Timothy Wilkins, the managing partner of Bracewell's Austin office, could not be immediately reached for comment, but said in a press release that the two lateral hires strengthen the firm's ability to serve clients in tech-centric Austin.

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Pillsbury Picks Up IP Group in Austin